Updated_Attachment_8_Health_Equity_Definitions_(1).pdf
PDF 197 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- 2136085
- Issued by
- New York
About this file
This is an attachment document defining health equity terminology for a Request for Applications issued by the New York State Department of Health's Office of Health Equity and Human Rights for the Migrant and Seasonal Worker Program (RFA #20770). The document provides foundational definitions and context necessary for organizations applying to deliver services under this program. The attachment establishes the Department's formal definition of health equity as achieving the highest level of health for all people through focused efforts to address avoidable inequalities, particularly for those who have experienced injustices and systemic disadvantages, consistent with New York State Public Health Law Section 240. The Department's 2024 health equity statement emphasizes that everyone should have fair and just opportunity to be healthy without limitations based on identity or location.
The document outlines key terminology essential to understanding health equity in the context of program delivery, including social determinants of health (conditions such as housing security, employment, education access, healthcare access, nutrition, freedom from discrimination, social support, transportation, green spaces, and environmental safety), structural racism (public policies and institutional practices that systematically privilege White people while disadvantaging people of color), health disparities (statistical differences in disease incidence and health burden among specific populations), and health inequities (systematic, unjust differences in health outcomes driven by social, economic, and environmental factors). The attachment emphasizes that all Department program areas, contractors, vendors, and partners are expected to advance health equity for New York communities, positioning organizational commitment to health equity as integral to contract performance and community service delivery.
View the file
Other files
Show all 14
On GovTribe
Work with this file
- Download the original file
- Contacts named in this file
- Similar government files
- Ask GovTribe AI about this file
Text version
Attachment #8
Health Equity Definitions
RFA #20770, Migrant and Seasonal Worker Program
WHAT IS HEALTH EQUITY?
The formalized definition of Health Equity can be found in Section 240 of New York State’s Public Health Law. According to the law, “Health equity’ shall mean achieving the highest level of health for all people and shall entail focused efforts to address avoidable inequalities by equalizing those conditions for health for those that have experienced injustices, socioeconomic disadvantages, and systemic disadvantages.”
(Public Health Law §240.7, as added by L.2022, chapter 523).
The New York State Department of Health (the “Department”) adopted the following statement on Health Equity in 2024: Health equity means everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be healthy, where no one is limited in achieving optimal health because of who they are or where they live.
Key Terminology Related to Health Equity
WHAT ARE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH?
Social determinants of health are some of the conditions in a person’s life that influence their ability to achieve optimal health. To work towards health equity, everyone must be able to access and experience conditions in life that contribute to optimal health, conditions such as:
• Access to safe and secure housing
• Living wages, secure employment, and safe working conditions
• Access to quality education
• Access to quality health care services
• Access to affordable and nutritious food
• Freedom from racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, and other forms of discrimination
• Access to social support networks
• Access to transportation
• Access to safe green spaces
• Access to clean air and water; community is free from environmental hazards
WHAT IS STRUCTURAL RACISM?
Structural racism is the combination of public policies, institutional practices, social and economic forces that systematically privilege White people and disadvantage Black, Indigenous and other people of color. Structural Racism could impact a person’s ability to achieve optimal health. This term underscores that current racial inequities within society are not the result of personal prejudice held by individuals. Adapted from Aspen Institute and Bailey, Feldman, Bassett.
WHAT ARE HEALTH DISPARITIES?
Health Disparities are the statistical difference in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of disease and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States. Health disparities can result from health inequities. USDHHS.
WHAT ARE HEALTH INEQUITIES?
Health inequities refer to the systematic, unjust differences in the health outcomes and opportunities among different groups in society. These inequities are driven by social, economic, and environmental factors, and they often affect marginalized populations disproportionately. World Health Organization.
HOW CAN ORGANIZATIONS PLAY A ROLE IN ACHIEVING HEALTH EQUITY?
Every program area in the Department works to advance health equity for all communities in New York both directly and indirectly. The advancement of health equity extends to our contractors, vendors, and partners. To learn more about how you or your organization can help advance health equity, please view the following resources: CDC, American Medical Association
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .